# Can the Lions go 0-16 again? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780 "2009-09-20T02:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/1 "2009-09-20T02:03:46Z")
The mightly blue and silver, having gone 0-16 last year, are off to another quick start, getting hammered by the Saints in Week One. So the questions are: 1. Do you think the Lions have what it takes to rack up another 0-16? 2. If not, which game do you think they’ll win? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/2 "2009-09-20T02:07:26Z")
The Lions play the Rams at Detroit on November 1. It promises to be an epic struggle. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/3 "2009-09-20T05:15:04Z")
Nope. There’s no way they can go two seasons without winning a game. To go one season, in this climate of parity is quite the feat. Two is simply impossible. Nuh uh, not happening, no way, no how. I don’t even want to address the second question though. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/4 "2009-09-20T05:18:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Can the Lions go 0-16 again? If they set their goals high enough, they can achieve anything. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/5 "2009-09-20T11:11:44Z")
Even if the true odds of Detroit’s winning each individual game were 10-1 against (\*roughly \*the equivalent of a point spread in the 18-20 range), they would still only lose their next 15 games about 24% of the time. In reality, even if Detroit is just as bad as they were last year (and they probably aren’t), the average true odds against them are very unlikely to be as bad as 5-1 against, which (if taken as a constant for simplicity’s sake) would yield only a 6.5% chance of losing every game again. Personally, I would need odds of at least 45-1 at this point before I’d consider betting on Detroit to go 0-16. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/6 "2009-09-20T16:53:51Z")
The Lions were in position to win 5 games last year. They managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Every game has an element of luck in it. The Lions can not be unlucky forever. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/7 "2009-09-20T17:41:36Z")
Plus, at some point the football gods HAVE to reward them for finally firing Matt Millen. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/8 "2009-09-20T18:18:43Z")
Detroit’s starting Matt Stafford now, right? That useless albatross was hung around our neck at the University of Georgia for far too long. He’s an arrogant little shit and my blood pressure rises up in fury just thinking about him. I hope the Lions are given a special berth in the playoffs just so they can go 0-18. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/9 "2009-09-20T18:32:51Z")
You know, if I were the team’s manager, I would embrace that position. Make it performance art. Try to lose in the most spectacular and subtle ways possible, all leaving people wondering, “is this for real?”. Maybe, after a while, they’d develop their own fan base just from this. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/10 "2009-09-20T19:35:44Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > You know, if I were the team’s manager, I would embrace that position. Make it performance art. Try to lose in the most spectacular and subtle ways possible, all leaving people wondering, “is this for real?”. Maybe, after a while, they’d develop their own fan base just from this. How is this different from the Millen era? Need everything BUT wide receivers? Draft one in the first round. Repeat as often as possible! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/11 "2009-09-20T19:56:47Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > How is this different from the Millen era? Need everything BUT wide receivers? Draft one in the first round. Repeat as often as possible! **pedescribe** _did_ use the word “subtle”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/12 "2009-09-20T19:57:47Z")
My bold prediction: The Lions will be the first team in a truly long time to go undefeated two seasons running. I’m too lazy to dig out a stats book and see if anyone did it way back in the early days of the 20s. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/13 "2009-09-20T20:51:40Z")
The NFL rewards bad teams. They give them the first draft choice in each round. They give them the easiest schedule possible. They have given the Lions that break, year after year. That means they have been able to draft the best possible players. So it boils down to management. They are an armpit of coaches, they stink Everyone knows we hire bad coaches and our head coaches disappear into a space warp, to never be heard of again. It would not be good for your resume, to have Lion Head coach on it. McDonalds rejects them . Personnel Departments have been known to be closed and fumigated after a Lion Coach applied. The Upper Management is ultimately responsible. They hire the coaches and draft the players. They have a reverse talent in picking the worst players or the worst fits in sports. The guy had trouble in college. He was a junkie, a rapist and a thief. Oh, no problem ,we can bring him around .We will make a gentleman out of him. Where else has a member of a coaching staff been arrested for naked, drunk driving? HELP ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/14 "2009-09-20T21:31:20Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Nope. There’s no way they can go two seasons without winning a game. To go one season, in this climate of parity is quite the feat. Two is simply impossible. Nuh uh, not happening, no way, no how. I think the Lions will win a few games this year, but I’d feel just awful for not pointing out that the Lions and their record have been making a joke of “parity” for years now. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/15 "2009-09-20T22:21:14Z")
I was wondering when the annual “Detroit Lions march to 0-16” thread would go up. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/16 "2009-09-20T23:14:56Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > My bold prediction: The Lions will be the first team in a truly long time to go undefeated two seasons running. I’m too lazy to dig out a stats book and see if anyone did it way back in the early days of the 20s. 😛 The biggest losing streak in NFL history is 26, set by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Second is the Detroit Lions, currently at 19. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/17 "2009-09-21T03:20:53Z")
I don’t think they can do it, but it’s worth noting that few people thought an 0-16 season was possible in the first place, so this is obviously an exceptional franchise. Based on the score alone they were competitive with Minnesota for a while today before reality set in. Reason for hope, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/18 "2009-09-21T04:58:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The mightly blue and silver, having gone 0-16 last year, are off to another quick start, getting hammered by the Saints in Week One. So the questions are: > > 1. Do you think the Lions have what it takes to rack up another 0-16? > > 2. If not, which game do you think they’ll win? No, they won’t go 0-16 again, and they really SHOULDN’T have last year. They were a pretty bad team last year, but not a terrible one. To go undefeated, you have to be extremely lucky as well as very good. The 1972 Dolphins were (they got a surprisingly soft schedule, for one thing). To go 0-16, you have to be extremely UNlucky as well as bad. The 2008 Lions were. I think they’ll go 4-12, maybe even 5-11. They’re not much better than they were last year, but they won’t have to be. They just need to get a bit luckier. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/19 "2009-09-21T18:11:16Z")
Well the Lions did go through 2001-2-3 ,three years in a row, without winning a road game. That is pretty impressive stat right there. If anyone can do it, we can. I feel they had a better chance to win with Daunte Culpepper in QB. If they are planning on Stafford growing into the job, they are dooming a whole team to a backup role. Winning now is not important. we are building for the Stafford future. Meanwhile we will judge a defense that spend 2/3 rds of a game on the field. The Central is not that tough. They may have been able to compete if they started Daunte. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew\_21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Andrew\_21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew_21)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780/20 "2009-09-21T22:15:29Z")
Halfway through the 2007 season, they were 6-2; they’re 1-25 since then. How did that happen? To answer the question, I don’t think the Lions will go 0-16 again. That would give them 33 straight losses; only one team has lost more than 19 straight. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-lions-go-0-16-again/510780.md?page=2)